Signing is free
Why a vote costs no gas, and what a signature proves.
Why a vote costs nothing
A vote is not a transaction. Your wallet signs a short message that says the space, the proposal, your choice, your reason and the time. Nothing is sent to the blockchain, so there is no network fee (gas) to pay.
Raad checks that the signature is yours, that the vote is open and how much voting power you have, then records your vote. Anyone can read it afterwards, with its signature.
What a signature proves
That this address made this choice, on this proposal, at this time. Anyone can check a vote against the address that signed it. Raad cannot vote for you, and cannot change a vote you signed.
What is free, and what is not
| Action | Cost |
|---|---|
| Voting, changing a vote | Free: a signature |
| Following a space | Free: a signature |
| Publishing a proposal | Free: a signature |
| Saving a space's settings | Free: a signature |
| Delegating your voting power | A transaction on the blockchain: a network fee (gas), once |
Delegation is the exception because it is recorded on the blockchain itself. See Delegation.
In technical terms
The message is EIP-712 typed data, the standard format wallets use to show a structured signature. Raad's sequencer (seq.raad.vote) checks and stores it, and its hub (hub.raad.vote) serves it to anyone. See the sequencer and the GraphQL API.